Kim Carr sworn in as Huntington Beach’s mayor pro tem

Huntington Beach City Councilwoman Kim Carr was sworn in as the city’s mayor pro tem during Monday night’s City Council meeting.

Jill Hardy, who was serving as mayor pro tem, voluntarily offered the position to Carr for the remainder of 2020, saying it would lead to a smoother transition when Carr becomes mayor next year.

“In 2002, Ralph Bauer was mayor pro tem and he was terming out,” Hardy said. “He offered for the next council member in line to be mayor to become mayor pro tem toward the end of the year, so that she, Connie Boardman, could be in the mayor pro tem seat and kind of practice what’s going on.

“I was mayor pro tem in 2010, when I was terming out, so I offered that same deal to the next person in line, but that offer wasn’t taken up. Here I am again, termed out mayor pro tem, and I would like to follow Ralph Bauer’s example and offer mayor pro tem to the next mayor in line, which would be Kim Carr.”

Hardy said it would be appropriate for Carr to sit on the city’s Economic Development Committee for the rest of the year. That sub-committee consists of the mayor pro tem, Mayor Lyn Semeta and the immediate past mayor, Councilman Erik Peterson.

Carr is Huntington Beach’s presumptive mayor in 2021, as she is the only one of the holdover City Council members — a list scheduled to also include Peterson, Mike Posey and Barbara Delgleize — who has not been mayor during her current term. Delgleize served as mayor in 2017 and Posey in 2018.

In Huntington Beach, mayor is not an elected position but instead one that rotates among the City Council members.

Carr was sworn in as mayor pro tem on Monday night following a 6-1 vote, with Peterson in opposition.

“I just don’t see what three meetings is going to do,” Peterson said.

City Council decides against stance on state propositions

The City Council voted 5-2 against temporarily setting aside part of a 1976 resolution that stopped the council from taking a stand on statewide ballot propositions.

The agenda item had proposed setting aside Resolution 4344 so the City Council could take a formal stance of opposing Proposition 15 and supporting Proposition 22, each of which are on the California state ballot this fall. This came at the recommendation of the city’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Sept. 16.

Semeta and Peterson voted for setting aside the resolution, but Carr, Hardy, Posey, Delgleize and Patrick Brenden were in opposition.

“[Intergovernmental Relations Committee] is for legislative positions, not ballot initiatives,” Posey said. “Ballot initiatives are decided by the voters. It’s not up to us as City Council body to advocate for a position that the voters will choose ... The [1976] City Council got it right with the resolution.”

Bicycle repair and sales outlawed on public property

Also Monday, the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that prohibits the repair and sales of bicycles and bicycle parts on public property in the city.

A similar ordinance was adopted by Long Beach in 2018, with the goal of eliminating bicycle “chop shops.”

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